djrbk wrote:QUOTE (djrbk @ Jul 27 2013, 04:57 PM) I guess having a supply of steady good (or hell, mediocre is fine as long as they're fun/exciting) commanders going toe to toe will keep things running positively the longest.
It's funny, because for years the general community attitude chased out not only new players, but novice/average commanders as well. When I stopped playing this game for its scale (because of the decline that everyone said didn't exist caused by the problems that everyone claimed this community didn't have), I kept playing because I went through ACS and I enjoyed commanding. But boom, a few mutinies for trying things that HADN'T been done a million times before, and I questioned why? If people weren't going to let me command because only spideycw can try new things, then why bother? So I, like probably dozens of other commanders at some point, stopped commanding. And then eventually the vet commanders left, and now there's not enough. Kind of ironic, because that exact same thing, the @#(!ty attitude, the community vitriol, the pretending there is not problem, is exactly what helped kill the player count in general as well.
So yeah, it's too late. You're not going to turn 80 people into hundreds, the stage in this game's lifecycle where it can GAIN momentum has passed. Now, since it fills a niche, it could probably have maintained it, but you're not going to grow something like this anymore, it just isn't appealing enough for newbies. The people in this community (and yes, it's not the leadership, it's the freakin community) didn't do a good enough job, and the retarded @#$%@#s who helped create this mess (and everyone knows who they are) can call me a voob, a carebear, a terrible commander or whatever else is in fashion nowadays as many times as they want, but just like how back then it didn't solve the very real problems (that we didn't have), so today it won't bring back the players that are gone.
Sorry for how angry this post was (I've been holding it in for a while), but I loved this game, and it's left a very bitter memory.
Bonus fun fact: Allegiance is the only game I've encountered that has a special derogatory term for someone who isn't new but isn't very good. To say you need a thick skin to survive here is an understatement, you need a

. It's no wonder people burn out.